


It Should Work

by laadychat



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Who Knows?, adrienette - Freeform, but maybe they'll be a twist?, i love kim kay?, i surely don't, marikim brotp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24820486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laadychat/pseuds/laadychat
Summary: After Marinette confessed her feelings about Adrien to Kim, Kim decided to take matters into his hand. He was never one to back down from helping his friend and when it concerns one of his longest friends, of course he would meddle.And Marinette, having been used to all the crazy schemes from all her girl friends, she doesn't think anything Kim does would be surprising.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Lê Chiến Kim
Comments: 111
Kudos: 467





	1. Chapter 1

Kim was on a mission.

And that mission was getting Adrien and Marinette together.

Well, more like getting Adrien to understand the obvious signs of Marinette's crush.

He decided, once Marinette bawled her eyes out on his shoulder, it was time for big brother Le Chien Kim to step in and help her out.

(Though, she promised to murder him if he ever mentioned the crying bit to anyone.)

When he told Marinette of his plans, she waved him off, already believing none of them would work. She said she tried all kinds of plans with Alya and the girls and none of them work. To Kim, it looked like Marinette forgot how devious he could be. In fact, she was amused and _challenged_ him.

And Kim was not going to sit out a challenge. Hell, he challenged a puma to a race, how would getting two of his friends together more of a challenge?

Which is what lead to where he was at the moment, lounging on her floor, skimming through some ideas he jolted down.

"Have you tried giving him a gift? That's like an ultimate sign."

Marinette snorted and Kim crossed out that idea, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're kidding? What happened?"

"I tried giving him a gift, somehow my note wasn't with it and he thought it was from his dad. Then I tried a lovenote, only for it to get mixed up with some constipation pills-"

_"What?"_

"-then I tried another gift and let's just say I cannot look at the color white the same way anymore." She continued casually, eyes never leaving her homework.

"I thought white was one of your favorite colors?"

Marinette sighed and it sounded so painful, Kim wondered what exactly happened to that gift but decided it wasn't best to push it. "No, not anymore. I don't think giving gifts will work at all."

"Okay, no gifts. How about asking him out on a date?" Kim asked bluntly, looking at his friend with wide eyes. It was only when she stared back, deadpanned, that he crossed that off his list. "No date, okay. How about a study da- I mean, study session?" He started to smile, thinking this would be a great place to start. "No offense, Nettie, but you can hardly say two sentences in front of him. Why don't you start small like a study session?"

"I don't think that'll-"

"Listen, listen," he waved his hand, hoping she'll forgive him for interrupting once he got his thoughts out. "Why don't you pick the place, like the school library. It's a controlled environment. And you would have school topics to keep you busy. You need help with physics, right? Adrien's great at it!"

He could already see the way his plan would pan out - Marinette and Adrien would spend hours together, getting to know each other, and eventually fall in love and start dating! He doesn't see anything that could go wron-

"Already tried and it was a major fail," she grimaced and Kim buried his head in his hands with a groan. "I couldn't look at him for a week afterward."

"Do I even want to know what happened?" He muttered, peaking between his fingers to glance at her.

There was a moment of silence before she slowly shook her head. "No... no, it's best if you don't know. You already have too much on me. I rather keep the embarrassment to myself, thank you very much."

"Coward." One side of his lips lifted as he narrowed his eyes. Remembering something he noticed a few months back, the other side of his lips lifted to a full grin. "Can't be worse than you stealing his phone."

"How-" Marinette stood up quickly, spinning around to point a finger at him. "What are you talking about?"

The fact that her voice squeaked had Kim feeling smug. "I said what I said."

They continued to stare and Kim raised an eyebrow, daring Marinette to say anything.

"If you breathe a word, Le Chien, I know where you sleep." She finally huffed, grabbing the nearest pillow and chucking it at him. "And that's for interrupting me."

"It's not like you were subtle about it - it's only because everyone else was busy with other things that it was just me who saw it." The smile on his face widening as he brushed the oncoming pillow aside. "Where did he say he last saw it... oh yes," his grin turned outright mischievous as he met her gaze. "Something about someone having swiped it from the boy's changing-"

He yelped, having not anticipated the tackle of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, though he was disappointed in himself for that.

"I did no such things!" Marinette yelled as she continued to wrestle him. "I'm too good for such blasphemy."

"How scandalous, Marinette." Finally moving away, Kim made sure to grab a pillow and held it in front of him. He'll definitely need some protection for the next he said. "The barriers you'll break in the name of true love."

Instead of tackling him again, she simply glared. "If you want to just mock me, you can just leave."

Scoffing, Kim threw the pillow he had at her before plopping down on the chaise. "Leave before dinner? Your mom will have my ass if I do."

She stared at him and Kim was starting to think maybe Marinette really did want him to leave. Opening his mouth to apologize, it suddenly dawned on him why she said that.

"Wow, trying to get Auntie Sabine wrath on me instead of you? That's a low blow, Mar." He shook his head, before grabbing his abandoned notebook. Looking at the final plan, Kim decided against sharing it.

"My brain is fried, dealing with your love life is like a fulltime job." He groaned, resting the back of one hand on his forehead, the other clutching at the part of shirt above his chest. 

"Trying actually being in love."

"Marinette, you're 15." He replied, deadpanned. 

"Someone's salty."

Before he could explain that no, in fact, he wasn't salty, her mother called out for them. 

He made sure to carefully erase the last idea before leaping out of her room. For this last plan, he thinks only he could manage it without Marinette doing most of the work.

_4.) Make Adrien Agreste jealous._


	2. Chapter 2

Kim knew that in order for his plan to work, he had to figure out how Adrien felt about Marinette. If he didn't feel that way about Marinette then there was no point. Feelings can't be, and shouldn't be if he was being honest, forced.

Once he got home from Marinette's place, he video called the only person who knew anything about the model.

" _Please tell me you didn't land yourself in the hospital again._ "

Mildly offended because that was only _one time,_ Kim huffed. "Even I _did,_ you wouldn't be the first person I call."

" _I was the first person you called last time_."

"You didn't complain when I split my winnings with you _,"_ Kim pointed out while he rolled his eyes. "Anyways. I got a question. Does Adrien have a crush on anyone?"

There was a pause before Nino raised his eyebrows. And then he started grinning and Kim knew exactly where his mind went to. Shaking his head quickly, he held the phone away from him. "Wait-"

" _Does our Kimmie have a crush?_ " Head leaned back, Nino let out a laugh. _Of course he'd say that._

Sighing, Kim waved his hand. "I said Adrien had me wanting to swing that way but no, it isn't for me. You know about Marinette's crush, right?"

" _Of course_." Nino shook his head, a sad smile on his face. " _I've never seen Marinette so anxious about someone before. As for Adrien having a crush..._ " He frowned, looking off-camera and Kim felt his heart drop. " _I'm not exactly sure._ "

That... wasn't the answer Kim was expecting and he furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

" _Well_ ," Nino started. " _I haven't ever actually asked him so I don't have a definite answer, but I noticed whenever Marinette walked into the room, he's like a thousand times happier."_

Now _that_ piqued his attention.

But Nino continued, unaware of how closely Kim was paying attention. _"Whenever it's me, Alya, Marinette, and him, he's always trying to grab her attention."_

 _Interesting._ This gave him an idea, one he was hoping would give him what he was looking for.

"Whenever everyone laughs, does he look at Nette first?" Kim asked, stroking his in amusement.

At first, he could see Nino wanted to brush this off but then he froze and Kim knew he got his answer. _"I don't know how you know, but yeah, whenever anything funny happens, he always looks at Mari."_

"That's because," he pulled out his notebook, a knowing smile growing on his lips. "It's one of the signs of a crush."

 _"It's kind of scary you know that."_ Nino raised an eyebrow and there was movement as he left the frame. _"Why do you want to know if Adrien has a crush on Mari? Planning on helping her?"_

Kim hummed, tapping his pen on his head. "Exactly. Now, it sounds like Adrien does have a crush on Nettie so I've now declared myself as the wingman of this operation."

The boy on the phone snorted before moving back into the frame. _"Good luck. Alya said she tried everything but nothing worked."_

"Nah, Marinette won't really have to do much work. She could do so many things but navigating her love life is where she draws the line," He muttered, shaking his head in wonder. "I'll see you at school, man. I've still got to refine this plan before I put it into effect tomorrow."

_"Does she know you're doing this?"_

" _Goodbye, Nino."_ Kim muttered, hanging the phone up. Sure, Marinette knew was up to something but Kim never went into specifics. From his understanding of what she told him before, she psyches herself out whenever she's alone with him. And one of the things he knows Marinette is that she could get carried away by overthinking.

So the first part of this masterplan was to get Marinette comfortable with talking to Adrien. Or at least, without having to overthink about everything that comes out of her mouth.

With a newfound burst of determination, Kim turned off his light and crawled into his bed.

-

"So emmie, how much do you trust me?"

"Please tell me you didn't place a bet on me."

He huffed, shaking his head. Why was that the first thing everyone says? It was just one time! Keeping in his annoyance to himself though, he sat down next to her with a grin. "My plan will work, cupcake, just wait and see."

She raised an eyebrow before turning to him and Kim could see the curiosity gleaming from her eyes. "Mind telling me what it is?"

"And ruin my hard work? Just sit back and trust that your older brother got this." He patted her head, before standing up to move towards his seat.

"You're literally only two days older, Kim."

He waved that off, slipping into his seat as the teacher walked in. "I was born forty-eight hours before you, I'm still older."

As he settled down, his gaze wanders over to the blonde boy, taking a moment to watch him. He never noticed the way he would treat Marinette but after what Nino said to him, he was willing to bet he was right.

That Adrien Agreste does, in fact, have a crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

There was still a few minutes before class started and Kim he could see how Marinette was using this opportunity to talk to Alya. The thing that caught his attention, though, was how attentive Adrien seemed to be paying attention. Especially when Marinette was being very expressive. The model was smiling and nodding along with her. But suddenly, the class representative froze and Kim was cringing from the sudden stutter that left her lips.

They _definitely_ needed to work on her speaking skills.

Or at least talk to her about it after seeing the way Adrien's face fell from her sudden change in demeanor.

But now, Kim knew that Marinette wasn't confident speaking to Adrien directly. He thought maybe if he was able to get her to talk to Adrien while simultaneously being distracted, they would get a better result.

Feeling better about having a solid place to start, Kim started to turn away just as the classroom door opened to reveal Lila Rossi. He didn't think much of her, until when he noticed the shift in both Marinette and Adrien.

The noirnette had _scowled_ and Adrien slipped into a facade Kim recognized he uses on interviews, leaving the Vietnamese boy confused as to what he just witnessed. But after looking around quickly, Kim came to the realization that only these two who had these types of reactions.

Just what exactly did he step into?


	3. Chapter 3

"He was stupid, Kim."

"Think of the _philosophy_ of it, Mar."

"Kim, what fucking philosophy are you talking about?"

Kim threw his hands in the air, looking at her incredulously. "Are you shaming him for sleeping with people?"

In all honesty, he didn't care so much about Greek mythology and the fact that maybe he could count the number of people Zeus _didn't_ sleep with on just one hand. It was always so fun to rile Marinette - she was so expressive. And maybe he was itching to get his plan moving along. After all, Adrien was definitely watching their interactions as he was packing his stuff.

She sighed, long and exasperated, and he could _feel_ the argument she had for him. "He literally impregnated a woman by being a _golden rain shower._ Just to spite her _father._ And don't even get me started on him being a _goose._ " Marinette crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Who even _does_ that?"

Kim could see Adrien opening his mouth and he had to force himself not to _look._ As long as her focus was mostly on him, she wouldn't freak out when Adrien says something.

At least, he's hoping that would be the case-

"He also had a wife." Adrien piped in and when the class representative nodded along to it, he couldn't help his growing smile.

"Exactly! That's _adultery_ which, by the way, is wrong." Her eye lit up in triumph, turning to give her comrade a big smile. "Thank you, Adrien."

As much as Kim was enjoying their interactions, he needed to get Marinette's attention back before she started overthinking.

"They're Greek _gods,_ they're not bound by the same social constructs as _humans._ " He stated, mimicking her previous stance, something he knew would irritate her. And an irritated Marinette thought a little less before speaking.

"Adrien, can you please explain to Kim why Zeus was an _asshole_?"

_Perfect._

And just like that, up until Adrien had to leave, the three of them were able to have a conversation, all without Marinette being flustered. 

Kim thinks he did a pretty good job.

"I don't even remember you being this invested in Greek mythology - you use to complain about it all the time!" Marinette exclaimed, shaking her head as they headed out of the school. She wasn't entirely _wrong -_ he did find the whole subject a bit boring. But the gods themselves? Now _that_ , he paid attention to.

Snorting, he threw an arm around her shoulder and steered them in the direction of her family's bakery. Pasteries was definitely in need at the moment. "I might complain, but I'm always paying attention. Also, I think this calls for a celebration, Mari."

"Why's that?"

Leaning closer, he cupped a hand to his mouth. "You spoke to Adrien without flipping out," he mocked whispered, pulling away with a satisfied grin. "Seriously, a whole ass conversation. And dare I say he enjoyed it too."

She stopped in her tracts so suddenly, Kim had to prevent them from tripping as he nearly dragged her down. When he turned to chastise her, he paused when he caught the shock on her face. It only proved what he already knew - Marinette was distracted enough to not freak out over talking to Adrien. 

If Kim was a little less understanding, he would have teased her about it. Okay, he'll tease her _a little,_ but not too much!

"You're... right. Oh my God," she went pale and rubbed her face, groaning. "What if I said something stupid, Kim? What if he thinks I'm an idiot!"

Sighing softly, Kim resumed his stance, arm around her shoulders, and began walking once again. "Marinette, trust me - Adrien doesn't think you're an idiot. He wouldn't have engaged in a conversation with you if he did. He would have just kept quiet."

"You think so?" She asked, her voice so quiet and it cracked at his heart. In the last two years, Marinette was gaining back the confidence she had as a kid. He hasn't heard her sound so vulnerable in a long time and it didn't sit well with him.

"Of course, emmie. I don't lie, remember?" He grinned, nudging her. "Adrien is human, em, he won't bite you if you messed up. I know you're only trying to impress him but just be yourself, okay? I got your back."

Marinette smiled up at him and her shoulders dropped from the tense way they bunched up near her ears. Seeing this, he felt himself relax, glad he was able to calm his friend down. All in all, he thinks today has been fairly successful.

"I just realized he heard me talk about Zeus' sex life." She spoke up when her house came into view. Raising his eyebrows, Kim looked back at her, only to be further confused when he saw how amused she looked.

"Yeah?"

"Kim, one of my most successful conversations with him was about how many people Zeus slept with."

Oh _yeah._

They stared at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing - it was stranged when he thought about it. Out of any conversations they could have dragged Adrien into, it was about Greek mythology.

"I was honestly more focused on your stupid argument, you were just saying all that shit to annoy me, right?" Marinette snorted, pushing the front door for them. "Please tell me I'm right or I'm going to have to deck you right here, right now."

Placing a hand on his chest, he gasped. "In front of your parents? How scandalous, Marinette." Dropping the act, he grinned. "Of course I was joking. Zeus was a dick-" 

Marinette's ringtone interrupted him and he had to turn to her parents in order to not give himself away. Surely if Marinette was too distracted by their conversation to realize she was talking to Adrien normally, she would forget what they talked about last. And any minute now, she'll start yelling at him, asking him why-

"Kim! Kim, why is he texting me?" Came the expected shout and he couldn't help but feel smug, lip curled in a smirk when he glanced at her. "Kim, what do I do?"

"Open it, Mari." He stared at her in amusement, watching as she held the phone away from her. As shook her head, he plucked the phone from her hand and opened it himself. "Ah, more Greek mythology about the gods. Did you forget he said he was going to send you his favorite stories?"

 _"What?_ When was this?" She shrieked and Kim rolled his eyes.

Today was a step in the right direction but boy, did Kim have his work cut out for him. Grabbing her arm, he led her upstairs towards the Dupain-Cheng livingroom.

"It's time for your first lesson; how to text the boy you have a crush on back."


	4. Chapter 4

Kim spent the weekend helping Marinette text Adrien - a task both entertaining and mystifying.

Marinette was so stressed out about it, he thinks if he wasn't there, she wouldn't have eaten at all. And some of the time, he grabbed the phone out of her hand and hit the send before she could psych herself out. But by Sunday afternoon, she was much calmer about texting him. He knows this all stems from Marinette being afraid of doing something that would have Adrien facing the other way but he likes to think he knows his classmate well. Well enough to know that Adrien has respect for Marinette and he wouldn't easily be off-put by her. It was hard to get bluenette to understand this but by the evening before school, she only asked for his opinion twice before responding to the model.

He's pretty proud of her.

"So, M," he drawled out, staring at the homework on his bed. He left her place earlier and spent some time helping his mother cook. But now, because he's been so preoccupied with other things, he hadn't been able to sit down and finish any assignments. "What are you going to do when you see him in school?"

When he heard the sharp intake of breath over the call, he winced. He had asked that without realizing, too distracted by the homework he was completing.

"Oh god, I didn't even _think_ about that." She hissed, and Kim could hear shuffling from her end and he sighed. Then again, he would rather have this conversation with her _before_ classes tomorrow. Prepping Marinette a bit worked well, but too much preparation had her second-guessing everything she said.

As much as he doesn't like to admit, but Kim was starting to think this all might be a bit unhealthy for Marinette. She already had so much to worry about - always constantly worrying about how someone might react to everything said sounds exhausting.

Maybe showing Marinette some other ways of better coping with a crush would help her along with Adrien, Kim decided.

He had to be gentle with her.

"What do you usually do when you see him?" He asked, grabbing his pencil to start on his homework again. "How do you greet him?"

There was silence on the other end after he spoke and he paused in writing to look at his phone - it was never this quiet when he was on a call with her. Once the quiet lasted more than a few seconds, he leaned over and pressed the button that would switch the call to a video chat. He only had to wait a moment before her face appeared and the breath he was holding eased out of him.

"Sorry, I spaced out for a second." She grunted, pushing her hair out of her face before facing the phone. "And usually," she grimaced and if the topic wasn't pretty serious, Kim would have poked fun at her for it. She was so expressive, it was almost entertaining for Kim. And he loved getting into debates with her or be there when she was talking about something she was so invested in. "Greetings don't always turn out so... _well_ for me." The words came out in a rush, her eyes averted away from her phone and Kim raised an eyebrow.

She got better at texting the model but Kim knew talking to him face-to-face was a whole different experience.

Remembering how she spoke with Adrien better when she was partially distracted, he had an idea that might work. But he realized it would work better if Marinette wasn't aware of it so he kept the idea to himself, and mentioned something else to her.

"Let's start off with general greetings - imagine I'm Adrien, what would you say to me?" Placing the phone so she would be able to see him, he grabbed a yellow scarf from his bedpost and placed it on his head, shooting her a grin.

Instead of freezing, the noirnette snorted and rolled her eyes. This, Kim wasn't expecting and stared at his phone screen, baffled. Usually, when he said something like that, she would groan, shake her head, and make him do something else. Shaking off his stupor, he decided this was a win.

"I don't think blonde is your color, Kim."

He was stuck between whether to find this insulting or to be happy she is no longer stressing at the moment. That statement was obviously false - he looked good in any color.

Leaning back, he placed a hand on his chest, mouth was drawn in a scowl. "Excuse you, but I happen to think I look rather dashing as a blonde. In fact, I might just get Juleka to dye it for me this week."

"Please, I think red would be more your color." She laughed and Kim was surprised she was entertaining the thought of which hair color would look best with him rather than how she was to approach Adrien tomorrow. But she looked so... relaxed and he was afraid bringing it up would get rid of that smile on her face to instead, he continues on, hoping she wouldn't stress so much over it tomorrow.

"Maroon or more of like fire?"

A smile curled on her lips and Kim had a feeling he wouldn't be liking what she would suggest. He recognized that look as _'every look for cover, Marinette's wild ideas are here'_ and so far, he hasn't been wrong.

"What about ferrari red? I think the color would really bring out your feature," she mused, tapping her chin and even though Kim doesn't know what that color looks like, he already knows it won't be a color he likes.

"Do I even want to know what that color looks like?" He muttered, tugging the scarf from his head and turning back towards the papers in front of him.

Marinette laughed once again and he heard the sound of his phone go off. Picking it up curious, he opened her message, just to see the ridiculous color she thought would look good on him. Jaw dropping, he went back to the video chat and shook a finger at her. "You think I would look good with _that?_ I trust your color coordinations, cupcake, but _that?_ I'm offended."

The color was _atrocious_ and not enough bakery items from Marinette's place could have him dyeing his hair to that color. He'd rather go all blue before even going near a shade like that color. Only some people could pull off colors similar to that, he thought, thinking of Nathaniel's hair color. But Kim? No way.

"I think it would be the perfect red color for you, Kimmie."

He huffed, knowing she wasn't completely serious but he kept up the act. But then a thought suddenly made its way to him and he grinned, feeling more certain of this idea when the noirnette grimaced at him. It wasn't his original plan for getting Marinette to talk to Adrien in the morning but he knew how competitive she could be and he was going to take advantage of that. "I'll make you a deal."

"I don't like where this is going."

He waved her concern off. This plan was _perfect._ "I'll dye my hair if you're able to have a decent conversation with Adrien tomorrow morning. Ah," he held up a finger when she opened her mouth, ready to dispute his idea. "We gonna spice this up a little - if you don't do it, you'll dye your hair neon green with navy blue highlights and _I'll_ be the one to dye it for you."

He knows his childhood friend - she wouldn't back down from a challenge, even one such as this. And as she was complaining about it, telling him the colors wouldn't look good on her, he sat back on his chair, finishing up his assignments without a word.

When she stopped talking for a moment, he glanced at his screen with a raised eyebrow. Kim had to try very hard to keep the smug smile off his lips, less she finds some way to make this challenge worse for him.

But when she narrowed her eyes at him, the side of her lips twitched, he knew she already found a way to make it more even. "If I win, and I will by the way," she paused, her lips slowly growing to a smile that _screamed_ trouble. "You'll have to dye your hair ferrari red with neon green highlights _and_ buy my food for a week."

The color combination had him shudder but he wasn't going to back down. If a challenge is what Marinette needed in order to get the conversation rolling with Adrien, then Kim will sacrifice his hair for it. His beautiful hair...

"One change though - when either of us loses, let's have Juleka dye our hair. If I have to walk around with those colors, I'd rather have it look near damn professional."

"Texting her as we speak. It's a deal then?"

He groaned, knowing that he was probably going to regret making a bet with her. But if it was going to help her, he could suck it. Straightening his shoulders, he opened the note app on his phone. "I'm writing the contract and I'll send it over to you and Juleka, she'll as our witness."

"I'm telling her to keep it to herself, if the other girls found out about it, I don't think I'd be able to have the nerve." She shook her head, a hand coming up to cover her mouth as she yawned. "Ready to have your ass handed to you tomorrow, Kim?"

Sending over the file, he nodded and tapped his chest, then gestured the universal sign for 'I'm watching you', something they agreed on doing once they realized their dares happen more often than not over phonecall or text. It was only when she yawned once again and did it back that he hung up, preparing for the loss he's already expecting. He hopes he could somehow convince them to change the neon grean to purple at least.

Though, he thought if Adrien wasn't blown by confident Marinette tomorrow because she chickened out, at least he will be utterly captivated by her change of hair color - he picked out those two colors for a reason.

Marinette looked good in neon green _and_ navy blue.

-

The next morning, Kim decided he was going to walk to school with Marinette. It wasn't because he didn't trust her to follow through with their dal - it was because annoying a grumpy Marinette this early was something he found entertaining. It isn't a secret to everyone that the noirnette is not an early riser. He also hopes she'd be in a better mood when she greets Adrien - _if_ she greets him, he muses.

"Why are you here? I'm not giving you a croissant," the pigtailed muttered as she walked down the stairs leading to the bakery and he couldn't help the laugh that slipped through his lips. It looked like she rolled out of bed just a few minutes prior.

He held up the fluffy pastry he was currently eating, grinning when she threw him a scowl. "Aunty Cheng is nicer than you, M."

She rolled her eyes at him before giving her parents each a huge. "Would you even be my friend if my parents didn't own a bakery shop?"

That question was _unfair._ Of course he would still be friends her! The free food was just a _plus_ for him though and when he explained that, he snickered at her exasperated look.

"Mom, please don't feed Kim any more things - he clearly doesn't know how to act."

" _Hey,_ " he whined, pushing her away to give the woman a one-arm hug. "Please don't pay her any attention."

The older woman laughed and patted his cheek, holding a pastry bag out to him with a wink. "Be good in school today, kids."

Before Marinette could complain further about his motives for visiting her at such a time, he grabbed the bag and skipped out the door, only pausing when he was a few steps away from the door. "No need to be so salty, Mari."

He glanced behind him, chuckling when she walked up to him, shaking her head as she ate the muffin she brought with her. "My mom is spoiling you."

"We're making those noodles you like tonight-"

"Say less, you can have an eclair whenever you want." She interrupted him, holding her backpack to him. He grabbed it without hesitation, watching in amusement as she began to put her hair up in her signature pigtails. She's been doing this so often, it sometimes surprises him whenever he saw her hair in a different hairstyle. He can't even remember the last time she had her hair down at school. As she began to put the second half of her hair, he decided to share his thought with her.

"What about keeping your hair down? Give Adrien one last look before you come back to school with green hair." He wiggled his eyebrows, moving away when she made moves to smack him.

"Well," she paused, tilting her head aside and Kim knew she was taking what he said seriously. And when she started to undo her pigtails, he grinned. _I won._

"This doesn't mean I think you're going to win, Kim." She took her backpack back, patting his shoulder.

He shook his head, throwing his arm around her shoulder. "No, I think it does mean I will win. I'm going to tell Juleka to prepare the dye."

"I already sent her the money for your dye."

This caught him by surprise - paying for something _before_ the challenge took place? Marinette only ever did that when she was completely certain of win(which usually involved baking) but now? Maybe he should be prepared to come home looking like a different person.

Before he could tell her just because she did _that,_ it didn't mean he was going to lose. If anything at this point, he wants her to lose just so he could Juleka Marinette bought her dye herself.

But Kim was a good friend so instead of doing that, he squeezed her shoulder and hid a smug grin as they started walking up the stairs leading into the school.

"Hey Adrien!" He called out without giving her a warning. Giving her a mischievous grin, he quickly ducked away as the blonde boy started making his way to them.

"Hey Marinette!" Adrien said with a smile and Kim made sure to be in hearing distance as he watched their interaction with bated breath, wondering which way the situation would tip.


	5. Chapter 5

As Kim waited nearby, half hoping he would lose, he watched as Marinette looked about ready to bolt. Her eyes had widened and he could see from where he stood, her knuckles turn white from where she gripped her bag. Maybe throwing her into that without a proper warning wasn't the greatest idea he’s had.

Standing up from his crouching position, Kim was ready to intervene when he saw Marinette roll her shoulders back and suddenly, it wasn't stuttering, unsure Marinette standing there.

In front of Adrien was the Marinette Kim was more familiar with; the confident, no-nonsense girl he grew up with. The girl he knew would win any challenges he sent her way.

_ I'm going to lose _ , were his thoughts and he couldn't be upset about it. Losing meant Marinette was able to confidently have a conversation with Adrien, moving her a step closer to her goal. Moving her closer to asking Adrien out. 

Just as he was about to accept his loss, accept that he would be coming to school in a few days with different hair colors, someone had stepped up next to Adrien and was holding onto his arm.

He blinked, not believing the sight in front of him. Lila had pushed herself between Adrien and Marinette and from the way the noirnette crossed her arms, he could tell she was not very happy with the interruption.

Mentally groaning, Kim couldn’t believe their luck. He was finally able to get the class representative to talk to her crush, only for her to be interrupted. He was about to get up and drag Marinette away when he remembered the odd moment between the trio he witnessed a few days prior. Deciding to stay, he watched them closely, wanting to know if what happened that day was a mere fluke, a trick of the light.

But when Marinette’s face hardened, her gaze sharp, he realized it wasn’t a weird encounter. He knew the noirnette wasn’t fond of Lila but seeing the way she stood so steely, her eyes narrowed, Kim knew there had to be more to the story. The last time anyone was on the receiving end of her burning glare was when Chloe was making fun of a painting Rose made. 

That was months ago.

(Chloe had definitely started cleaning up her act lately - she and Marinette haven’t had an argument in, what, five months?)

What surprised Kim the most, however, was the change in Adrien’s demeanor. He was standing straighter and his smile was one he saw on the advertisements. But the biggest change was in his eyes; whereas they were open, soft before Lila showed up, they were now guarded, blank.

What happened between Lila and _ Adrien? _

__ Did Marinette and Adrien know something about the brunette student that he didn’t? 

When he saw the way Adrien leaned away from Lila, Kim frowned. Whatever happened between them, it was clear he didn’t like the way she was touching him. Stepping away from his spot, Kim started heading towards them, ready to intervene if needed. 

And just as he was a few steps away, he caught the tail end of their conversation.

“-right, Adrien?”

“I’m sorry, Lila, I won’t be able to make it. I have prior plans.”

It was odd, hearing Adrien speak so formally. Deciding to break it up, he locked the blond model into a headlock and gently ruffled his hair. “Hey, Agreste, ready for that test in chem?”

Kim had to give it to the model - the way he went along with such smoothness had him nearly break out of character. 

“Of course - you think I spent all that time grilling the formulas in your head yesterday for no reason?” 

“Remind me - what is the purpose of the mitochondria?”

“Kim, don’t embarrass Adrien like that.”

Looking up at Marinette, Kim grinned. Marinette had a smirk on her lips and the mischievous gleam in her eyes meant that she knew just exactly what he was doing. Throwing Lila his best 'apologetic' smile, he shrugged.

“Sorry, Lila. I still need Adrien’s help. Gotta steal him from you now - see you in class!”

With that said, Kim eased up from the headlock but kept his arm around his shoulder and moved away from the girls. If Kim wasn’t such a good friend, he would have left Marinette to fend for herself. But Kim was a good friend. Glancing over his shoulder, he locked gaze with Marinette and grinned.

“Cupcake, mind getting my backpack? Left it by your feet!”

Turning back to the blonde classmate, he felt his grin slip when he caught the relief expression on his face.  _ What’s going on,  _ he wondered. Rounding the corner, he quickly ushered Adrien towards the seating area right under the stairs. When his childhood friend was within hearing distance, he let the first question slip past his lips.

“What’s going on between you two and Lila?”

He wasn’t accusing them of anything; it was out of mere curiosity. And slight concern. Since two of the most caring and understanding people in his class disliked this classmate, it was raising red flags in his mind.

“What do you mean?” Adrien perked up, and this time, the guarded gaze was toward  _ him. Odd. _

“Hey, not trying to pick a fight.” Kim raised his hand in surrender. “I’m just curious. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

But, damn, was he curious. Looking over at Marinette, Kim raised an eyebrow, silently willing her to speak up, to tell him. The hesitation on her face surprised him though. What was she hiding? Was Lila bullying her? Bullying  _ Adrien _ ?

When they still hadn’t spoken up, Kim sighed. “It’s okay to not tell me but-”

The next words were hovering over his tongue, but he couldn’t get them out. In front of him, Adrien and Marinette were  _ locked in gaze.  _ What surprised him more was how it seemed like they were communicating without speaking. Since when was Marinette able to hold a stare with Adrien without freaking out?

_ Strange. _

“Lila is a liar.” The noirnette blurted out and he sucked in a sharp breath. Whatever he was expecting to hear,  _ that  _ wasn’t what he expected. But when he saw horror begin to fill in her eyes, he softened his stance. If Marinette said such a thing, she would have legitimate reasons backing her up. 

It was still a hefty accusation but when Adrien nodded, Kim decided that there was definitely something there that he had no idea about. 

“A liar? What did she lie about?”  _ There,  _ that was a safe question to ask. He grabbed his backpack from Marinette, waiting to hear what they would say.

“Everything.”

This time, it wasn’t Marinette who spoke up and with furrowed eyebrows, Kim looked over at Adrien. But there was a hidden fire in his eyes, as if  _ daring  _ Kim to refute him, to challenge him. It piqued his interest further and he asked another question, wanting to unravel this web of secrecy.

“Like what?”

“About being Ladybug’s best friend and knowing her identity to start,” and as if a dam was broken, Marinette was no longer hesitant. Instead, she threw her hair over her shoulder and snorted. “And she’s pretty manipulative. If you don’t believe us, just watch how she interacts with everyone.”

Adrien nodded, his lips pulled back in a sly smile. “I have on good authority that she hasn’t many of the famous people she claims to have.”

Who were these two in front of him? It was with the way they kept giving examples, the way they looked at each other before snickering, that was messing with his mind more than the revelations. It was as if they’d been friends for much longer and it had a certain familiarity that made the fretting over the weekend seem like a facade.

And if Kim was being honest, he trusts Adrien over Lila when it comes to knowing other celebrities. He was the son of one of the most famously known fashion designers. Also, he wouldn’t be surprised if all the famous and rich people did know each other. 

“Uh, okay, I believe you.” He stuttered, still reeling from the encounter that was happening in front of him. He never knew Adrien had such a mischievous side of him. And this must have been true for Marinette to set aside her feelings in order to be so chill around the blonde model.

With wide eyes, Marinette clasped her hands in front of her. “Really?”

Kim nodded and did his best to shake off his stupor. “Yeah - I mean, I’ll still keep my eyes out on the manipulation you both mentioned but I believe you.”

From the relief so painfully obvious on both their faces, Kim felt his heart clench. It must have been eating at them, the thought that no one would believe them. And Kim wasn’t lying - he did believe them. But he still would like to keep an eye out, just to see what they were talking about. 

He believed them but he wanted to see it for himself as well.

“Wait - how do you know she isn’t friends with Ladybug?” He asked, remembering the first reason Marinette gave. And it was more out of curiosity, wanting to know what Marinette knew more than coming to Lila’s defense.

“Please-,” Marinette shook her head. “There’s an interview on Alya’s blog of Ladybug explaining that Chat Noir is her best friend and even  _ he  _ doesn’t know her identity. If her partner doesn’t know, how does an Italian exchange student who came to Paris after the first few akumas be her best friend, let alone know her  _ identity _ ?”

That… did make a lot of sense and Kim felt silly for not thinking more into the claim. 

“Have you told anyone this?”

“If we confront her, all she has to say is ‘Ladybug says she doesn’t know me to keep me safe from Hawkmoth’ and everyone would believe her,” Adrien muttered, standing up from his seat as the first warning bell rang. 

“It’s how she dodges any questions when people want to ask her for more details. Just watch and you’ll see what we’re talking about.” Marinette piped up, swinging her own backpack on her bag. 

Adrien’s phone pinged and when he glanced at it, he made a sound of amusement. “You guys go on ahead. Nino needs some help real quick.”

As the model bid them goodbye, Kim hummed. Turning to his childhood friend, he threw his arm around her. 

“Well, cupcake.” He mused as they walked towards their class. “I guess this means I technically lost our bet.”

A beat of silence. “What do you mean?”

“You basically talked to Adrien this morning without being the mess you usually are around him.” He pointed out, chuckling when Marinette dropped her jaw, gaping at him.

“No, it doesn’t count. I didn’t do it on my own - you were there.”

“Nah, I think it does count, doesn’t it?”

She furrowed her eyebrows before narrowing at him. “Are you trying to purposely lose?” 

“Fine,” he used his free hand to hold a placating gesture. “If you want to get technical, we can ask Juleka.”

That seemed to satisfy her and Kim shook his head. Only Marinette would try and fight him on something like this. Though, her playing fair is one of the many reasons he appreciated and respected her. 

Just as he slipped into his assigned seat, he glanced over to the side of the room, believing Adrien and Marinette more and more as he caught sight of Lila’s seething gaze in the noirnette's direction.

He didn’t expect another goal on his list but after witnessing the sweet girl facade Lila slipped into once someone looked in her direction, he decided he needed to find out what was going on.

Kim just wasn’t sure yet if it should go before or after helping Marinette get together with Adrien.

Or if both goals were interlaced. Sending a quick message to Juleka, he then leaned back against his chair, his mind far from the test that was handed to him.

_ New Goal: Find out what’s really going on with Marinette, Adrien, and Lila. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof sorry for the delay! Been writing for a different fandom lately but I am back to updating this particular fic!


	6. Chapter 6

“So according to Juleka, we can change the bet.”

He threw an arm around her shoulders the moment the bell for lunch rang. Because they were partnered up for the classwork of the day, it was easy to talk about it with the musician. And he knew Marinette would have wanted an answer as soon as possible. 

Just as she opened her mouth, he continued speaking. “But just so you know, she also thinks you technically won the original bet.”

She huffed, much like he was expecting her to. “No, we were interrupted. I only got two sentences in before Lila showed up.”

“Yeah, but that was still two sentences you said without stuttering. And don’t forget about that weird communication thing between you two when I confront you about her.” He pointed out, the whole interaction still on his mind. For the way Marinette freaked out about Adrien, she didn’t exhibit any of it at that moment. 

Which only further proved his theory that if her mind was focused on anything besides talking to Adrien, she was able to hold a conversation easily with him. Besides, if he continued to pester her that she already won, it would fuel her to further prove him wrong.

She shook her, a steely glint in her eyes as she squared her shoulders. Now, this was Marinette getting down to business and he could get behind this. 

“New bet starts now. Hey, Adrien!”

And like that, she was gone, dashing towards the blonde boy. Crossing his arms, he stepped out of the room after her, his eyebrows raised as he watched her catch up to him. He knew Lila was whisked away by the other girls, which meant no one would be able to interrupt the two in front of him. This was perfect.

Shaking his head, he was a good distance behind them where he couldn’t hear the conversation but knew that Marinette wasn’t having a hard time speaking. In fact, as Kim watched them enter the cafeteria, she looked like she was  _ enjoying _ it. 

All it took was a bet and a little challenge and she was doing fine. This was progress and from the way Adrien was lit up when Marinette sat down next to him, he knew the model was happy about it as well. It was a win-win situation overall.

Well, if you didn’t take his poor hair into consideration. 

Grabbing his food, he took a seat a couple of tables away from where he could observe them without hovering. And his friend was doing perfectly.

“This must be the smartest bet you have ever done.”

Snorting, Kim shrugged his shoulder. But he was proud of it, in fact. And still a bit surprised that it worked. 

“I’m honestly a bit surprised it worked, Juleka.” He told her, his eyes never leaving the couple. “I’m pretty sure she’s more focused on winning this bet than the fact that she was talking to Adrien.”

She hummed, setting her own food down next to his. “I’m surprised we didn’t think of it sooner.”

To that, Kim shook his head. “No, I don’t think it would have worked if you were the ones to bring it up.”

Juleka seemed to ponder about that for a moment but she nodded slowly. “I think you’re right. We wouldn’t even know betting on what would have given her the confidence you did.”

“She’s pretty confident - just needed a little nudging.” 

“Still, look at them. I’ve never seen her so at ease with him. You know,” Turning to her, he raised an eyebrow. It looked like the next thing she was going to say was pretty serious so he sat a bit straighter. “I was starting to think that maybe the way she felt for Adrien was a bit unhealthy. I tried telling the other girls but Alix was the only one who agreed.”

“Yeah,” he grimaced, his attention back on their friends. “I was thinking the same. Honestly, if all this wouldn’t have worked, it was a conversation I wanted to have with her.”

And Kim was planning on doing so but then each plan of his had worked so well. He didn’t want to give up on the thought that he could make their relationship happen but he was there just to give her some encouragement. The actual blunt of the work had to come from her. And the day they had that argument about the Greek god Zeus, she seemed more at ease with the concept of talking to him. After a few long minutes, he had finally convinced her that Adrien didn’t think she was weird at all. And if they could talk about how many people Zeus slept with and was fine, was there a conversation they couldn’t have?

And with this relaxed Marinette, he hoped she did fully understand it. That even if they spoke about weird things or even said something off-putting, Adrien wasn’t going to shut her down. 

Then he caught the way Adrien started talking animately, he knew this was something the boy enjoyed too.

“I feel like a father watching his kids grow up.”

That got a laugh out of Juleka and she started to eat. “Well, I made time today to dye your hair.”

“You already knew she was going to win?”

“Marinette already paid me for the dye, of course, I would root for her.”

Rolling his eyes, he stole a fry off of her plate. “Even I knew I was going to lose. I specifically made that bet knowing that.”

“You willingly made a bet on your  _ hair? _ ” She whistled, stealing a bit of his food in retaliation. “Anyways, I don’t think it's your hair you need to worry about right now.”

Furrowing his eyebrows, he followed her gaze and winced when he saw who she was looking at.

“I forgot all about Alya.” He muttered, watching as the said girl had her jaw dropped as she stared at Marinette and Adrien. “I hope she doesn’t interrupt them - can’t have Marinette fighting me on another bet.”

“I don’t think that would be a problem.”

She pointed back at the model and Kim let out a sigh. Adrien was leaving and that meant the bet was over.

Which also meant  _ Marinette  _ knew. Something she made obvious when she shot up from her seat, a grin on her face as she basically  _ skipped  _ to him.

“I won, Kim.”

He groaned, all for the theatrical, but she didn’t need to know that. “My beautiful hair.”

“Told you I would win.”

“Never let me doubt you again,” he shook his head and dropped it on the table. “Why couldn’t you have picked better colors?”

“What fun would that have been- woah!”

Lifting his head, his brows rose when he saw that Alya had snatched Marinette away, her voice clear from where he was. “You have some explaining to do!”

“And you, too.” Nino plopped down next to him, his eyes narrowed.

“That sounds like my cue to head out. See you later, Kim.” And with a salute. Juleka was gone with her food, leaving Kim to deal with Nino’s questions all alone.

Scowling at her retreating back, Kim couldn’t exactly blame her. Not when he was the one who dragged her into it in the first place.

Sighing, he faced his friend and braced for the onslaught of questions he knew was coming his way.

“ _ How? _ ”

Deciding to act dumb, Kim tilted his head. “How what?”

“Kim, don’t try that fake bullshit on me. How did you get Marinette to talk to Adrien like they were best friends?”

Dropping the act, Kim let himself grin. “It honestly started with a bet.”

Nino blinked as if the mere thought of that was unheard of. “A bet?”

“Yup.”

A pause. Then a scoff and; “No way.  _ A bet? _ ”

Kim nodded. “I figured if she had another goal in mind besides talking to Adrien, she wouldn’t be overthinking as much.”

“So,” he started speaking, still trying to wrap his head around what Kim said. “Since she was too busy with the thought of winning said bet, she was able to talk to Adrien.”

“Pretty much.”

And with the straightest face possible, he started shaking his head. “Alya’s going to lose her mind.”

“Hey, I didn’t think it was actually going to work.” Kim raised his hands. “I had a pretty good theory but this really confirmed it.”

“What was the bet on anyway?”

At that, Kim’s grimace was real. “You’ll see tomorrow, for now," he got up with a heavy sigh. "I must prepare myself for the loser treatment."  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for such a short update but I really wanted to get the ball moving since I have a renowned will to finish this fic. and with winter break here, I'm confident I could probably get closed to finishing it.


	7. Chapter 7

Kim wasn't able to get Marinette by herself after lunch. Even when class was in session, she was dragged away by Alya before he could even get so much as a word in.

He figured his best chance was going to be after school. But even that turned out as a bust when she was swept away by the girls of his class. 

Residing in the fact he wouldn’t be able to get a chance to talk to her until this evening, he settled on finding someone else. He already knew one side of the emotions and in order to properly execute his plans, he needed to know both sides  


Kim waited until all the girls left the lockers before approaching his classmate. "Hey, Adrien!" He called out.

"What's up?" The blonde looked up and flashed him a smile. 

Kim was going to have to approach this carefully,  _ discreetly.  _ He was pushing Marinette to pursue her feelings for Adrien but if the latter didn't reciprocate her feelings, he wouldn't be able to do so in good faith.

He also didn't want the model to be suspicious. 

"Do you like video games?" He decided on, knowing such a topic was safe. It was a perfect way to bring Marinette’s name up in a nonchalant way and hoped he could pull it off.

"Oh, I love video games." His eyes lit up at the mention and Kim held back the sigh of relief threatening to escape him. "Have you played that new Mega Strike game?"

Kim wasn’t that into video games but since he was good friends with both Marinette and Max, he knew enough to talk about it. "The one with the upgraded boss? I played it with Marinette and I'll admit," he rolled his eyes, though fondly, at the memory. "She beat me at every round."

"I've played with her once and she's awesome!" 

And just like that, Adrien started going over that day and how it was one of the best handouts he has ever done. 

This gave Kim the chance to study him as he talked about the noirnette, to get a better understanding as to where his heart lies. If he did in fact have feelings for Marinette and this relationship wasn't going to be a fail.

From what he could gather, Adrien definitely cared for their class representative. So much so Kim would have called what he was doing as  _ gushing. _

But it still wasn't explicitly  _ clear  _ to Kim that he viewed Marinette as anything more than a friend and someone he respected. 

"Why don’t you ask if you can hang out again?”

Marinette was going to kill him for this suggestion. Then possibly resurrect him in order to shower him with gratitude. Plus, it was clear Adrien liked her company so some time spent alone would really hone in his feelings for her, if he has any.

And would she  _ really  _ get mad if her crush asked to hang out?

The blonde boy’s eyes shone with the possibility of it but just as quickly, he looked defeated. “How would I convince my father to let me go?”

_ Oh, right. _

“Do you think he would let you go if you called it a study session? We do have that one test in biology coming up.” He spoke up after a moment, his mind racing with the other excuses Adrien’s father might believe. Whatever it took to get him to spend the day with Marinette, Kim was going to do it. If it met sneaking the Agreste boy out or dragging Nino into the mix, he was going to take the chance.

Adrien’s brows shot up and the most mischievous smile Kim has ever seen grazed his lips.

“You have given me a brilliant idea,” grabbing the gym bag he had next to his feet, Adrien waved, and Kim realized he actually doesn’t know much about his classmate. “See you tomorrow!”

He wasn’t given enough time to say anything before Adrien was rushing out of the room.

“Well then,” he muttered, staring in the space that was previously occupied. He came to figure out where Adrien’s heart lies but instead, ended with him excited about asking Marinette for another hangout.

_ Maybe I could crash it, _ he mused as he started heading out of the school. That was surely going to end with him six feet under.

“Yeah, I totally know him! He’s my uncle’s best friend!”

Kim was going to keep walking but when the voice registered, he stopped in his tract.

“Really? That’s so cool! Are you going to his next concert?”

That voice, he wasn’t completely familiar with so Kim sat down in the steps and pulled out his headphones. They were far away enough where he could hear them but it wouldn’t be obvious that he was listening into the conversation.

He was never one to really eavesdrop but if people are speaking out in the public and he just  _ happened  _ to be there, then it couldn’t really be his fault for gaining the information he does? Especially after what Marinette and Adrien said, Kim wanted to see it for himself. Not because he  _ didn’t  _ believe them but after such an accusation, he wanted to see proof.

Besides, what reason would the new transfer student have to lie? He wasn’t thinking so because  _ everyone  _ lies at some point. Even the small white ones, they were still lies. So Kim was sure this couldn’t be the reason his friends dismissed her so harshly.

Maybe it was something more personal?

“Of course! Jagged, he lets me call him that by the way, said I am his good-luck charm.”

Now  _ that _ rung bells in his head. He remembered how she mentioned knowing the rock star when she first came to the school but she never said her uncle knew him. In fact, she told the whole class that her mother was the only living relative she had.

But maybe she had a family friend that she saw as an uncle? 

Deciding that he heard enough, Kim stood up but made sure to look as aloof as possible. He didn’t need them to know he was listening and made his way to the Dupain-Cheng bakery, hoping to catch the noirnette on her own.

For one thing, he was dying to know what she and Adrien talked about and Nino hasn’t stopped asking since lunch. He told him during their last class that Alya was broken now because of him and was it bad that he felt pretty proud of himself? 

Though, he felt bad, too. Even if he wasn’t there to witness everything, he knew Alya had tried multiple ways to get Marinette and Adrien together and here was Kim, butting into the situation. But Marinette  _ did  _ ask for his help so he felt a bit better after that reminder.

“Welcome, Kim! It’s always lovely to see you.”

Walking into this place always felt like walking into a second home. 

“Hey, Auntie Cheng! Is Marinette home?”

She nodded and waved him away, and with a final wave, he took the steps two at a time, knocking on the top door when he made it to the top.

“Who is it?”

“It is I, the ice cream man.”

He snorted after hearing the groan of annoyance from her and grinned when she opened the door. “You have some explaining to do.”

That surprised him --  _ he  _ had questions for  _ her.  _ Kim wasn’t expecting it to be the other way around.

“What do you mean?”

“Why did Adrien text me thirty minutes ago asking if we could hang out?”

He wasn’t expecting it to happen so fast but this was  _ perfect _ . With this momentum, they were surely bound to date within the next month, Kim was sure. 

Stepping into the room, he slugged his bag off his shoulder and sprawled himself on her floor. Was Alya here? “Why are you asking as if it's a bad thing?”

“I know you had something to do with it.”

Ah, so his funeral was moved to a much closer date it seemed.

“And how do you know that?”

"Because," she drew out the last vowel as she dropped right next to him. But she wasn't tackling him so Kim knew she wasn't  _ entirely  _ mad. And when she draped herself over his back, he was able to breathe better. "I know you and this had your scent all over it."

He was worried that maybe he had overstepped by giving Adrien the idea. That Marinette would be upset that he talked to the blonde boy. 

"I may have hinted at it," he finally admitted. "He kept talking about this one day you both hung out and you beat the hell out of him at a video game."

"He talks about that day?"

Kim nodded. "Quite happy about it."

"Huh."

He blinked. This wasn’t at all how he expected the conversation to go. Instead of stressing out over it all, she was calm. This was nothing at all how she had been reacting about Adrien before and Kim wasn't sure how to move forward with this different dynamic. Looking over his shoulder, Kim furrowed his brows, unable to quite grasp this reaction from her.

"Did you respond back to him?"

She answered with a hum.

Just. A hum.

When she didn't further elaborate, she wiggled around until she slipped off of him and he sat up. "Okay, What's going on?" 

She had the audacity to look confused. Unbelievable. But hidden underneath the aloofness, her eyes gleamed with amusement.

"What are you talking about?"

Narrowing his eyes, Kim pointed at her. "Why are you not freaking out?"

She shrugged and leaned back, her lips curling. "Should I be?"

He couldn't help it -- his jaw dropped.  _ Should she be _ ? It wasn't like Kim wasn’t hoping Marinette would eventually be this chill about anything Adrien related but this happened  _ fast _ . Did something occur that he wasn't aware of?

Snapping his mouth closed, he narrowed his eyes. "Okay, smart-ass, what happened?"

She sighed but the smile softened. "I realized how much of a dork he was." Came her honest answer.

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Somehow, anime came up when I was talking to him at lunch and it was like a whole new side of Adrien I was witnessing. So," Marinette shrugged, her smile softening. "It was easier to not overthink it. Besides, the way I put him on a pedestal was completely unfair to him."

The confession blindsided him, leaving him speechless. It was something he had hoped she would come to understand and the fact that it was  _ anime  _ that had Marinette relaxing more didn’t surprise him as much.

Besides, it meant she had someone to rant about it to now.

"Wow," he spoke softly into the quietness that settled around them. "I'm proud." He added after a moment when the shock wore off.

Suddenly, she looked shy, a blush dusting her cheeks. Grabbing a nearby pillow she chucked it at him. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

He caught the pillow easily but the grin on his lips only grew. As it turned out, his ideas weren't so bad after all. Now, Marinette was going to hang out with Adrien again and she wasn't freaking out over it.

All in all, Kim would call this a success.

But now, that was just one side of this equation. He still needed to know whether Adrien likes Marinette or not in order for all of this to work out in the end.

A hunch isn't the same thing as an absolute answer.

"Enough about my love life-- have you heard Jagged's new song?"

And now the smile was gone.

_ Jagged Stone. _

Marinette noticed. "What's wrong?"

He still was trying to comprehend what he overheard from Lila and the other girl as he explained to the noirnette, but it was harder to see it for something other than what it was.

Even after telling Marinette, he was starting to be convinced about what Adrien and she revealed to him.

"You know what would clear this up?" Marinette sat up from her and Kim was very familiar with that grin of hers. "I'll call him."

_ Wait _ , he did hear that correctly?

"What do you mean 'call him'?"

She rolled her eyes, as if asking such a question was ridiculous. As if calling up a rock star whenever was a normal occurrence.

Grabbing her phone, she pressed her finger on her lips at him before dialing up a number. Kim watched, wondering if Marinette was pulling his tail when he heard the call being answered.

" _ Marinette! Always such a pleasure to hear from you!" _

It wasn't a voice he recognized but Marinette went on. "Hi, Penny! How are you?"

_ Penny?  _ Wasn't that the name of Jagged Stone's assistant?

He knew Marinette made that one glasses for him all those months ago but she told him the story of how it happened. Does that mean she always had contacts with him since then?

"Hold on, let me get him on the phone."

Blinking, he then glanced over her shoulder to see if it really would be--

"'Ey, Marinette! How's my honorary niece doing?"

_ It really was him _ . And he called her _ honorary niece. _

"I'm doing great! Just heard your new album and wanted to let you know how much I love it."

For the second time in five minutes, Kim’s jaw dropped again in disbelief. If he wasn’t here to witness it, he wouldn’t believe she had connections to the well-known rock singer. He continued to listen in, baffled by the absolute formality they spoke with each other.

“I have a question, Jagged.”

Perking up at the words, Kim scooted closer to her. 

“ _ Hit me. _ ”

“Do you know a girl named Lila by any chance? She said her is was your best friend.”

_ “Best friend? My only best friends are Fang and Penny so unless her uncle is a crocodile or somehow turned into my girlfriend, it’s a no from me. Hey Fang, come say hi to Marinette!” _

And just like that, Kim witnessed in real-time the debunking of a tale. Since the musician was close to Marinette, he had no reason to lie. 

When she hung up after much cooing on her end, Marinette turned to him with a raised brow and a satisfied smile. “So?”

“Okay,” he held up a hand. “I’m going to need to take a moment to properly comprehend that you and Stone are close enough for him to call you  _ honorary niece. _ ”

“Yeah,” she shrugged, tossing her phone on the chaise. “After I made those glasses, he asks me from time to time for commissions.”

_ Can this girl be any cooler?  _

“That’s so awesome,” he murmurs, shaking his head with wonder. Of course Marinette would pull in a big name with her work -- she was extremely talented. He was proud.

But now that the reality of it was starting to fade, he sighed. He got his answer -- Lila wasn’t being truthful earlier. He wanted to give her the benefit of doubt but after this, he was hesitant to do so. Sure, it was just this harmless lie but was it possible she was deceiving them all with the other things she claimed?

“Do you think she lied about all the other people she’s met?”

Marinette shrugged, laying back down next to him. “I can only confirm for Jagged but I’m betting that she did.”

He thought about all those big named celebrities and even the ones she never named but claim to have a connection to. Was it all made up? Kim had a fleeting thought once in a while on how most of what she said seemed too good, but he never really questioned it. Hell, his homeroom class consisted of people with major connections. It wasn’t too hard to believe someone new would know some people.

“Why would she say all that?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. The most I can say is because she felt intimidated by some of the people in our class. But once she framed me for that whole thing a couple of months ago, I just think she needs some major help.”

He frowned, Kim knew exactly what she was talking about -- he believed her back when she said she had nothing to do with it. Sure, Marinette had some wild ideas but he knew she wasn’t a cheater or would actively go out of her way to hurt someone.

And if  _ she  _ didn’t do all of that, the only other person who was involved was Lila. Kim was always suspicious about that.

“Major help?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “I mean, people lie all the time, right? Small white lies, excuses to get out of situations, whatever. But she manipulates to get people to do things for her.”

Grimacing, Kim didn’t like the idea of that. He doesn’t talk to Lila often but he witnessed whenever she asked someone to do something for her she was more than capable of doing it the day before. He always chalked it off to the friendliness of his classmates.

“Do the others know?” He asked, a bitter taste on his tongue.

“I tried, remember? It always backfired on me, so I gave up.”

“Oh.”

“Yup,” she popped the ‘p’. “Besides, it seems like everyone is starting to get annoyed. Heard Alix the other calling her Chloe II so,” her hands under her head, she sighed. “I wanted everyone to understand she was using them but the more I called her out, the worse my relationship with them became. Figured if I leave her alone, she’d eventually spin a lie so bad, it’ll be her undoing.”

He guessed that made sense. “And Adrien ran into the same problem?”

“As far as I’m concerned. I think she did something to him specifically but I don’t know.”

Kim wondered what she could have possibly done to gain the wrath of Adrien Agreste, their registered sunshine. 

A knock on her door shattered his train of thought. Curious as to who it might be, he received his answer immediately in the form of her mischievous smirk.

“Oh no,” he whispered, staring with wide eyes as the door opened up, and a grinning Juleka stepped into the room.

Marinette patted his head. “Oh  _ yes. _ ”


End file.
